b'Coatings Covered still have to inspect them to make sure theyre OK.coating is not their main businessDifferent Coatings but an important part of it. Shethfor Different Applicationssaid entering the coating game isChristopher Halter, manager ofmuch cheaper these days. equipment sales and service at As a previous job coater, most ofOerlikon Balzers Coating USA Inc., the large manufacturers that wereSchaumburg, Illinois, said typical sending me business have gonecoatings include TiN, TiC, TiCN, ahead and made the investmentMT-TiCN, TiCNO and /K-Al 2 O 3 . themselves, he said. I think theyAdditional components and com-realize that if they already spend aponent groups extend further flex-certain amount of dollars a monthibility to coating designs, such as on coatings, theyd probably spendTiAlN, TiBN, TiB 2 , CrCx and Cr 2 O 3 .the same amount with half the head- Each coating shop, whether in-aches just keeping it in-house. house or a provider, develops its Sheth said sending out tools forown coating recipes. When con-coating can complicate the manu- sidering bringing coating in-house, facturing process. manufacturers may want to focus Logistically, it can become aon four or five recipes that will work nightmare because you have a longbest for customers. Specific prop-turnaround time and you still mighterties can be adjusted for the differ-lose a package that has $2,000 orent applications in which a tool will $3,000 worth of tools in it, he said.be used.Then you have to package it extraAs an example, for drilling, you carefully to prevent breakage. Andneed a low thermal conductivity, when you get the tools back, youyou need hot hardness, you need oxidation resistance, you need chip evacuation, and you need to reduce about the authortorque, said Ren Scheibe, COO of Paris-based coating equipment Holly B. Martin ismaker Partner Development Indus-a science writertry International, which does busi- characteristics to your tool.and technicalness as PD2i and has a U.S. loca- Coatings also may add an attrac-copywriter basedtion in Fox River Grove, Illinois. Ative, shiny appearance and offer op-in Winchester,carbide tool itself cannot supply alltions for differentiation and identi-Virginia. For morethese functions. But through a ded- fication.information, visit www.hollybmartin.com. icated coating, you can apply theseSome customers ask us for a 50JULY 2020Toolcoatings.indd 50 6/16/20 11:49 AM'